
Greetings, all. Ambush Bug here with another AICN HORROR: ZOMBIES & SHARKS column. Let’s dive right into a couple of oldies, a few newbs, some indies of various quality, and a radio play!
Sounds fun? Well, come on and check out the horror reviews!
(Click title to go directly to the feature)
Retro-review: SCANNERS II: THE NEW ORDER (1991)/SCANNERS III: THE TAKEOVER (1991)
TALES FROM BEYOND THE PALE Season Two Episode One (2013)
SELF-STORAGE (2013)
THE BLACK WATERS OF ECHO’S POND (2013)
WISH YOU WERE HERE (2012)
FRANKENSTEIN’S ARMY (2013)
INSIDIOUS CHAPTER 2 (2013)
And finally…51 Deep’s TALLMAN & THE BEARD!


SCANNERS II: THE NEW ORDER/SCANNERS III: THE TAKEOVER DVD/BluRay Combo
SCANNERS II: THE NEW ORDER (1991)Directed by Christian Duguay
Written by B.J. Nelson
Starring David Hewlett, Deborah Raffin, Yvan Ponton, Isabelle Mejias, Tom Butler, Raoul Trujillo, Vlasta Vrana
SCANNERS III: THE TAKEOVER (1991)
aka SCANNER FORCE
Directed by Christian Duguay
Written by B.J. Nelson, Julie Richard, David Preston
Starring Liliana Komorowska, Valérie Valois, Steve Parrish, Colin Fox, Daniel Pilon, Peter Wight, Harry Hill
Reviewed by Ambush Bug
The Shout Factory released their BluRay version of SCANNERS a while back, highlighting one of David Cronenberg’s more iconic films, mainly made famous for the head-bursting scene. It’s amazing how much life can be squeezed out of a concept fully explored in comics such as Marvel’s New Universe’s PSI-FORCE, Valiant Comics’ HARBINGER, and, of course, Marvel’s X-MEN. Not the deepest of Cronenberg’s concepts, but one that not only spawned two sequels released in the same year, but also a spin-off SCANNER COP series of films which I hope will get the BluRay treatment next. Today, we’re taking a look at these two sequels which, minus Cronenberg, definitely fail to meet the standards set by the original, but still have some charm and capture the era they were made in pretty well.

There are a few things no SCANNERS movie should be without. First and foremost: the obligatory head explosion sequence where a Scanner shows his or her power by making someone’s eyes bulge and head explode. Both of these films have them, and while SCANNERS II: THE NEW ORDER’s at least has the decency to film it differently by having the burst come from the back of a robber’s neck, SCANNERS III: THE TAKEDOWN apes the entire scene where Michael Ironside causes the guy’s head to ‘splode in the first film. Both directors know this is the money shot of the film, and spend a lot of time building up to it and making it look like a nice and juicy splatter. SCANNERS III gets extra points for having an extra head ‘splode near the end of the film as a football player’s noggin goes POP on national TV.

The third and more unintentional connection is the fact that both of these films were made at relatively the same time; the horrible hairstyles and fashion of the late Eighties/early Nineties will definitely cause for some laughs when you view these two films. Feathered hair, skin-tight leotards, rolled up sleeves on a sports jacket, and white tennis shoes with stonewashed jeans can be found in almost every scene and prove to be the most scary aspect of both of these films put together.

I had much more fun with SCANNERS III: THE TAKEOVER, as it dives right into the camp with the lead bad villainess practically twirling her moustache in every scene and has a final showdown in a red jumpsuit leapt from the four-colored page. Still, the one-liner spewing villainess is fun to watch, there are a couple of nice bits of nudity, and the aforementioned themes of world domination are laughable but admirable in their aspirations to do something epic, and it even has some kung fu, some naughty nurses, a car chase ending with a flaming motorcycle, screeching LETHAL WEAPON-esque guitar riffs, and a flying Santa Claus (if you consider plummeting to one’s death flying, that is). It doesn’t succeed in reaching that epic status, but the creativity is there.

The BluRays are light on extras, but if you like your psychic horror you’re going to want to make sure you own these sequels.

TALES FROM BEYOND THE PALE Season Two (2013)
Find out more about this film here and on Facebook hereReviewed by Ambush Bug
A while back I covered the first season of TALES FROM BEYOND THE PALE, a radio show-style anthology series from the mad mind of JUGFACE/YOU’RE NEXT star and BENEATH/HABIT director Larry Fessenden. Fessenden has gathered another cadre of talent to bring this new season to life, and I’m going to sit down with each of them to give you the what’s what about them all over the next few weeks.

By Joe Maggio
Starring Owen Campbell, Vincent D’Onofrio, Tobias Campbell, Brenda Cooney, Larry Fessenden, Joel Garland
This tale from Medieval times focuses on a young boy who questions his belief in a tribal god known as the Ram King. The story is a gritty tale of the strength of belief and legend and how that can be used to show strength and perverted to one’s own will. There is some nice voicework here and the final moments are really harrowing as there is a scene of torture and monstrous retribution.
As a way to start out this new series of horror tales, this is one that really feels like a campfire tale, based in legend and oozing with spooky ambiance. Written and directed by Joe Maggio who brought you BITTER FEAST, RAN KING is a story I’d love to see expanded some day as I’d love to see what this horned monster god looks like.
Recorded in front of a live audience, all of these mini-radio plays are available for download and purchase on the TALES FROM BEYOND THE PALE website.

SELF STORAGE (2013)
Directed by Tom DeNucciWritten by Tom DeNucci
Starring Eric Roberts, Michael Berryman, Jonathan Silverman, Tommy DeNucci
Find out more about this film on Facebook here
Reviewed by Ambush Bug
As much as I want to see B-actors like Eric Roberts and C-stringers like Michael Berryman succeed, it’s clear that SELF STORAGE is not going to be the film to elevate them to the next level.

The plot written out doesn’t sound bad, and if there was some intrigue or sense of urgency here, this might be a taught little thriller. But DeNucci is more concerned with focusing on the partygoers dancing, smoking pot, partying, drinking, and having sex. To make matters worse, the party shenanigans are so unbelievably boring and cliché that it will literally take all of your force of will to keep from forwarding through this one. The fact that not one, but two, extended sex scenes occur through the course of the story shows where the interests of this film lie. After an hour of lame partying to even lamer music, Roberts and Berryman strike in equally uninspired ways.

SELF STORAGE turned out to be a misguided film that pays attention to the frivolous way of life without actually showing us any details that would make it appealing in any way. The extended and lame scenes of partying and the way the actors poorly convey as if they are having any fun would be forgivable if not for the fact that the film spends almost a solid hour on the party before anything actually happens. Store this one in the back of the closet and forget about it.

THE BLACK WATERS OF ECHO’S POND (2009)
aka HADESDirected by Gabriel Bologna
Written by Michael Berenson, Gabriel Bologna, Sean Clark
Starring Robert Patrick, Danielle Harris, Sean Lawlor, James Duval, Nick Mennell, Mircea Monroe, Arcadiy Golubovich, Electra Avellan, Elise Avellan, Walker Howard, M.D. Walton
Reviewed by Ambush Bug
This is not a good week for low budget horror as THE BLACK WATERS OF ECHO’S POND shoots for the moon with a BB gun and, despite the presence of an impressive and eclectic little cast, it fails to have the oomph to make it.

The film falters mainly because in order for it to proceed, the players must continue to play the game in order to the bad shit to happen. The problem with this ancient game is that it looks and plays like something you’d find in the game aisle at Toys R’ Us rather than some mystic summoning board. Drawing from two stacks of cards, basically the game is an overly complex take on Truth or Dare which pulls out the worst in all the players. After round one, any normal set of folks would have said fuck this and walked away from the game, but then there would be no movie. So play on they do, despite the extremely uncomfortable places the game takes them.

There’s a bit of action here and there, some decent bits of nudity and debauchery, the twins from Robert Rodriguez’s PLANET TERROR show up and chirp out some lines, and there’s some pretty decent gore and effects, including an impressive Pan suit with an articulated goat head, but the painful attempts to make this a character piece and the implausible plot device of the game make THE BLACK WATERS OF ECHO’S POND a hard one to sit through.

WISH YOU WERE HERE (2012)
Directed by Kieran Darcy-SmithWritten by Kieran Darcy-Smith & Felicity Price
Starring Joel Edgerton, Teresa Palmer, Felicity Price, Antony Starr, Nicholas Cassim
Find out more about this film here and on Facebook here
Reviewed by Ambush Bug
Though I don’t know if I would completely consider this one a horror film, WISH YOU WERE HERE does have some horrific moments and is definitely filled with some performances that are bound to thrill and intrigue.

The story unfolds as a character piece, told in a non-linear form, so we can get to know this quartet of talented actors by seeing them as they have fun leading up to that fateful night when everything goes wrong and then watching their lives fill with torment afterwards. Telling a story in this manner would normally lose the viewer, but the presence of these talented actors keeps the whole thing afloat, and the tense editing and story beats make you ask questions right up to the end, with the truth being surprising and shocking, yet believable when it is finally revealed.

Hitchcockian in set up, WISH YOU WERE HERE is a compelling mystery that will lead you along by the nose and wrench the heart. The deft way in which director Kieran Darcy-Smith handles this intricate tale of guilt and betrayal makes me want to pay close attention to what the director has up his sleeve next for us.

FRANKENSTEIN’S ARMY (2013)
aka ARMY OF FRANKENSTEINDirected by Richard Raaphorst
Written by Chris W. Mitchell, Richard Raaphorst, Miguel Tejada-Flores, inspired by the works of Mary Shelley
Starring Karel Roden, Alexander Mercury,Joshua Sasse, Robert Gwilym, Luke Newberry, Hon Ping Tang, Andrei Zayats, Mark Stevenson, Cristina Catalina, Jan de Lukowicz, Zdenek Barinka
Find out more about this film here and on Facebook here
Reviewed by Ambush Bug
Let me start off by stating the obvious: FRANKENSTEIN’S ARMY is set during the final days of World War II as Russian troops make their way through Europe battling Nazis. During this excursion, one Russian soldier is documenting the whole thing via a handheld video camera. Now I believe, though hand held cameras of this sort did exist at the time, it was not able to capture color footage with sound. Maybe I’m completely incorrect, but I don’t think the technology to actually film the events that occur in this film actually existed. Still, this is a found footage film in color with sound set during World War II, so if that bothers you to the point where you dismiss the film, then so be it. I was able to accept this technological inconsistency and was able to press on despite it, and if you’re able to suspend your disbelief as well, you might come out the other end of FRANKENSTEIN’S ARMY enjoying the experience.

The story basically follows a group of Russian soldiers as they stumble into a facility which serves as Victor Frankenstein’s lab. Vic’s been busy working for the Nazis, and the troops soon find out exactly what his experiments have spawned. As the cameraman and the rest of the troops try to make it out of the facility to survive, the camera captures some pretty impressive monsters along the way and that’s where FRANKENSTEIN’S ARMY shines.

That said, FRANKENSTEIN’S ARMY feels a whole lot more like a funhouse ride spook house rather than a story as basically the entire last half of the movie consists of monsters lunging out of the darkness growling from their mouth-holes and revving chainsaw-grafted limbs at passing soldiers and into the lens of the camera. This action is repeated over and over again, with just the type of monster changed. The handheld aspect simply amps this funhouse feel, which is good for the “comin’ at ‘cha” cheap thrill, but doesn’t do much else than that initial jolt. It’s repeated numerous times, and the effect lessens with every burst.

Karel Roden of HELLBOY and A LONELY PLACE TO DIE plays Viktor Frankenstein, and does so with an over the top glee. Roden is fun to watch as he revels in Frankenstein’s medical madness, splicing body and machine together with whatever he can find handy. I love the circular kettles with human legs following him around. It shows that the makers of this film were not taking things too seriously. I think it’s that added humor and almost wink towards the viewer that makes me forgive FRANKENSTEIN’S ARMY for its faults and appreciate it for the carnival fun ride that it is. Those expecting heavy, straight-faced horror will find themselves left wanting, but FRANKENSTEIN’S ARMY is good for quite a few laughs and thrills as well as some phenomenal practical effects and full body prosthetics.

INSIDIOUS 2 (2013)
Directed by James WanWritten by James Wan & Leigh Whannell
Starring Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Barbara Hershey, Ty Simpkins, Lin Shaye, Steve Coulter, Leigh Whannell, Angus Sampson, Andrew Astor
Find out more about this film here
Reviewed by Ambush Bug
Though the first INSIDIOUS was not the perfect film, I will say that the first half is damn near perfect in tone, patience, and rock solid scares. Having just sat through a double feature of both INSIDIOUS and INSIDIOUS 2, I still think the first holds up in terms of scare and the second, while not as powerful in the story department, continues to do what the original did well and fixes a few of its missteps as well.

As the last moments of INSIDIOUS suggest, this film focuses on the Lambert family once again, who continue to experience paranormal phenomena around their house. Though the slightly off Josh is adamant that the terror has subsided and that both his wife Renai (Rose Byrne) and mother Lorraine (Barbara Hershey) need to ignore the weird stuff in order to take power away from them, the weirdness persists. But what we are aware of, is that Josh returned from the Further (a sort of in-between ghost world astral projectionists like Josh and his son go to in their sleep) somewhat different than when he went in.

Wan and Whannel’s true talent seem to be tapping into those childhood nightmare scenarios and this film is littered with them. All of those nights alone in your room that most of us have forgotten or replaced in our minds with info like online passwords and such never left these guys consciousness. It’s this “in tunement” with childhood fear that is ever present as the beating heart of effective scares in this whole INSIDIOUS series. The scenes where a child sits up at night and looks into that dark corner or closet or the fear of walking through a quiet house past open doors and dark rooms are the most effectively paced and executed here. In the INSIDIOUS movies, you have to pay close attention because the fear could be in any corner of the screen, making this one of those films that is definitely more fun to watch on the big screen. Though it’s a scene repeated over and over in this film, watching one of the characters venture through a creepy house is going to tightened my spine every time.

Midway through, things get extremely expositiony as someone is constantly explaining, reexplaining, and then making sure we get it by explaining it one more time. There are some nicely paced paradoxes that come into play that tie both the first and second films together even tighter which I loved, but they almost shoot themselves in the foot by literally having characters saying “Oh, so that’s what that meant.” almost directly to the audience.

Clunky midsection aside, INSIDIOUS CHAPTER fixes the weak ending of the first one and it doesn’t feel like they ran out of money this time around, as the filmmakers admitted they did in the first. While the final moments with the Lamberts do feel like they wrap things up rather quickly, the end moments do leave you with that feeling of something is standing directly behind your shoulder and breathing heavy breaths through talon-like teeth.
I’m recommending INSIDIOUS CHAPTER 2 for trying to make a true sequel which is difficult to do these days with many producers still thinking making someone watch another film beforehand is too much to ask an audience. As long as the continuity continues to be this tight, I’m all for supporting this film series which has proven to be a cinematic bendy straw through childhood night terrors and haunted house shriekery.
And finally…nothing is more compelling (and more disgusting), than hobos. The lunatics at 51 Deep know this and show this to us all in this tale of hobo hilarity and horror called TALLMAN & THE BEARD. Enjoy!
See ya next week, folks!




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